Curtain-fixture.



A. U. RADER.

CURTAIN FIXTURE.

APPLICATION FILED JAN. 5, 1914,

Patented Oct. 13, 1914.

2 SHEETS-SHEET 1.

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mam fi m CT a H UNITED sTA'rEs PATENT oFnIoE.

AUGUs'ro. RADER, or UPPERMONTCLAIR, vnw JERSEY.

CURTAIN-FIXTURE.

Specification of Letters Patent. Patented Oct, 13,1914

Application filed. January 5, 1914. Serial No. 810,438.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, Auousr C. RADER, a citizen of the United States, residing at Upper Montclair, in the county of Essex and State of New Jersey, have invented a new.

curtains such as used in the windows of carsand the like. Heretofore curtains of this type have been found objectionable for the reason that, as the car vibrates and sways while in motion, the fixtures which frictionally engage the sides of the window casing tend to creep upwardly so that it is often ditlicult to maintain the curtain in the position to which it has been lowered.

One of the objects of the present invention is to provide a fixturewhich is so constructed as to prevent this creeping action.

Another object is to provide a fixture which while operating to hold a curtain securely in any position to which itmay be adjusted, will nevertheless yield either upwardly or downwardly so as topermit the curtain to be raised or. lowered easily. v

Another object is to provide a fixture which can be readily adjusted so that those portions thereof for engaging the window casing will bear against the casing-with a suiiicient pressure to properly hold the cure tain. j

Withthe foregoing and other objects in view which will apear as the. description proceeds, the invention resides inthe combination and arrangement of parts and in the details of construction hereinafter described and claimed, it being understood that changes in. the precise embodiment of the invention herein disclosed, can be made within the scope of what is claimed, without departing from the spirit of the invention.

In the accompanying drawings the pre ferred form of the invention has been shown.

In said drawings z-Figure 1v is a front elevation of a portion of a curtain in position in a window casing. Fig. 2 is a section on line AB Fig. 1. Fig. 3 is a view partly in elevation and partly in section of the fixture and the lower portion of the curtain, the rollers being shown in the positions assumed thereby when out of engagement with the casing. Fig. i is a front elevation of one end portion of the fixture and showing the position assumed by the roller while the fixture is being moved upwardly. Fig. 5 is a similar view showing the relative positions of. the parts while the curtain is being moved downwardly. Fig. 6 is a plan view of one-end of the fixture Fig. 7 is an enlarged section on line (3-D Fig. 6.

Referring to the figures by characters of reference 1 designates a tube engaging the end of the curtain E and having its end portions interiorly screw threaded. Each of these end portions is adjustablyengaged by a threaded stem 2 having opposed longitudinally extending flat faces 3 formed with longitudlnal grooves 4 1n whlch are secured springs 5 j which extend longitudinally of the grooves and diverge outwardly beyond the outer end of the stem as shown at 6. I The said stem has a forked head between whlch the diverging portions, 6 of the springs engageand the sides of the fork are connected by a retaining pin 8. Abinding nut 9 is mounted on the stem 2 and is adapted to bear against the end of tube 1,

while an adjusting nut 10 is mounted on stem and extends over springs Byadusting this nut 10 toward the fork .7, the tension of the springs 5 can be increased,

whereas by adjusting it in the opposite .directionand toward the nut 9, the tension I of the springs can be reduced.

Mounted within the fork 7 is aroller 11 having an enlarged central opening 12.

through hwhichthe pin 8 extends. The springs 5 bear against/the periphery of the roller 11 and, as theyexert equal forces upon roller along outwardly converging lines, it will be seen that the roller will be maintained normally in the position shown in Fig. 3 wherein the innermost portion of the wall of opening 12 bears outwardly against the pin 8. j v i In placing the fixture in positionwithin the window casing F the nuts 9 are loosened and the stems 2 are adjusted so that the distance between the outer extremities of the two rollers embodied in the fixture will be slightly greater than the distance between the inner faces Gr of the guide grooves H formed in the casing F. Nut 9 is then screwed against the tube 1 so as, to bind.

leased. and the springs 5 promptly project them into the grooves 8, as shown in Fig. 1. Thus the rollers will bear frictionally against the faces G, the springs 5 serving both to press said rollers against the surfaces G and to hold the rollers against rotation under normal conditions. As hereinbefore stated, the tension of the springs 5 can be controlled bymeans of the nuts 10.

lVhile a car is in motion the sides of the window casing have more or less movement relative to eachother and, as before stated, the fixtures heretofore used have thus been caused to creep upwardly that it is a difficult matter to maintain a curtain in any position to which it may have been adjusted. By providing a fixture such as herein described, however, the rollers 11 will be free to move upwardly, downwardly, reaiwvardly and outwardly whenever necessary because of the relative movement of the sides of the window casing and, consequently, the creeping action heretofore produced will be eliminated and the curtain will be maintained in any position to which it be adjusted. The springs 5 further act as cushions so that any jolting of the car body will not result in the fixture creeping upwardly within the casing F. Instead the springs will promptly restore the parts of the fixture to their normal positions relative to each other immediately after any jolting action.

It will be noted, by referring toFigs. 4 and 5 that, when the curtain is pushed upwardly or pulled downwardly, the frictional engagement of the rollers with the sides of the casing is reduced and it is thus possible to move the curtain more readily than would otherwise be the case. For example, when the curtain is pushed upwardly, as shown in Flg. 4, the lower springs 5 Wlll yield down -wardly, thus gradually releasing the grip of-therollers upon the casing F and finally allowing the rollers to slide easily in an upward direction within the grooves H. Furthermore, and as shown in Fig. 5, when the curtain is drawn downwardly, the upper springs 5 will yield so as thus to permit the rollers to slide freely within the grooves without producing undesirable friction. What is claimed is p 1. In a curtain fixture, the combination with a supporting structure including a re taining pin, of a member mounted on the pin to engage guides on a window frame, said member being mounted to shift radially relative to the pin in any direction, and yield ing means carried on the supporting struc ture and engaging said member for pressing said member outwardly normally against the pin, said yielding means being adapted to resist upward and downward movement of the member relative to the pin.

2. A curtain fixture including a retaining p'l n, a roller mountedthereon and adapted to shift diametrically in any' direction rel ative thereto, and yielding means engaging the periphery of the roller for pressing it outwardly normally against the pin, said yielding means being adapted to resist upward, downwarc and inward movement of the roller relative to the pin.

3. A curtain fixture including a forked member, means for connecting the same adjustably to a curtain, a roller mounted to slide diametrically in any direction relative to the forked member, means carried by the forked member for holding the roller against ;lisplace1nent relative thereto, and yielding means engaging the periphery of the roller for projecting it normally outwardly to position, said yielding means being adapted to resist upward, downward and inward sliding movement of the roller.

4. A curtain fixture including a forked member, means for connecting the same to a curtain, a retaining element carried by said member, a roller mounted to slide diametrically in any direction relative to said element, yielding means engaging the periphery of the roller for holding said roller normally projected to active position, said means being adapted to resist the sliding movement of the roller in any direction out of its normal position, and a device for adjusting said yielding means to vary the pressure exerted thereby upon the roller.

5. A curtain fixture including a forked member, means for adjustably connecting the same to a curtain, a retaining element carried by said member, a roller engaging said element and adapted to slide diametrically in any direction relative thereto, springs engaging the periphery of the roller at two points for holding the roller normally projected to one position and for resisting movement of the roller in any direction from said position.

6. A curtain fixture including a forked member, means for adjustably connecting the same to a curtain, a retaining element carried by said member, a roller engaging said element and adapted to slide diametrically in any direction relative thereto, springs engaging the periphery of the roller at two points for holding the roller normally projected to one position and for resisting movement of the roller in any direction from said position, and means for varying the tension of the springs.

7. A curtain fixture including a roller supporting structure, arollercarried thereby and adapted to slide diametrically in any direction relative thereto. springs engaging the periphery of the roller at two points and cooperating to hold the roller normally projected to one position and to resistthe sliding movement of the roller in any direction from said position.

8. A curtain fixture including a supporting structure, a roller carried thereby and adapted to slide diametrically in any direction relative thereto, springs engaging the periphery of the roller at two points and cooperating to hold the roller normally projected to one position and to resist the sliding movement of the roller in any direction from said position, and means for varying the tension of the springs.

9. A curtain fixture including a supporting structure, a guide engaging roller carried thereby and adapted to slide diametrically in any direction relative thereto, opposed leaf springs bearing against the periphery of the roller and cooperating to hold the roller normally projected to guide engaging position, said springs being adapted to resist the sliding movement or said roller in any direction away from such position. i

10. A curtain fixture including a support ing structure, a guide engaging roller carried thereby and adapted to slide diametrically in any direction relative thereto, op-

posed leaf springs bearing against the pe- I riphery of the roller and cooperating to hold the roller normally projected to guide engaging position, said springs being adapted to resist the sliding movement of said roller in any direction away from such position, and means for varying the tension of the springs. j p

11. A curtain fixture including a curtain engaging tubular member, 'a stem adj ustably connected thereto, a roller supported by the stem and mounted to slide diametrically in any direction relative thereto, and yielding means engaging the roller for holding it normally projectedto active position, said means being adapted to resist the sliding movement of the roller in any direction away from said normal position.

12. A curtain fixture including a tubular curtainengaging member, a stem adjustably connected thereto, a guide engaging roller supported by the stem and slidable diametrically in any direction relative thereto, springs secured to the stem and bearing against the periphery of the roller at spaced points, said springs cooperating to hold the roller normally projected to guide engaging position and to resist the sliding movement of the roller in any direction away from said position.

13. A curtain fixture including a tubular curtain engaging member, a stem adjustably connected thereto,'a guide engaging roller supported by the stem and slidable diametrically. in any directionrelative thereto, springs secured to the stem and bearing against the periphery of the roller at spaced points, said springs cooperating to hold the roller normally projected "to guide engaging position and to resist the sliding movement of the roller in any direction away from said position, and means for varying the tension of the springs.

In testimony that I claim the foregoing as my own, I have hereto affixed my signav ture in the presence of two Witnesses.

AUGUST C. RADER.

Witnesses:

SELINA WILLSON, NELLIE M. HERNDON.

Copies of this patent may be obtained for five cents each, by addressing the Commissioner of Patents,

Washington, D. 0." 

